Kutzer, Portsmouth 11/12s reach District II final

Sunday

Jul 13, 2014 at 10:15 PM

HOOKSETT — Timm Kutzer is the unquestioned ace of the Portsmouth 11- and 12-year-old Little League All-Star baseball team, and Portsmouth coach Kyle Griffin came up with an idea during pregame warmups to ensure Kutzer would be able to finish Saturday's District II semifinal game against Lamprey River.

DAN DOYON

HOOKSETT — Timm Kutzer is the unquestioned ace of the Portsmouth 11- and 12-year-old Little League All-Star baseball team, and Portsmouth coach Kyle Griffin came up with an idea during pregame warmups to ensure Kutzer would be able to finish Saturday's District II semifinal game against Lamprey River.

Griffin chose to start Calvin Hewett, and Kutzer entered in the second inning and never gave No. 4 Lamprey River a chance in Portsmouth's 6-0 victory at Donati Field. Kutzer allowed three hits and struck out eight in 4 2/3 innings and added three RBIs at the plate.

"We've had games where he's reached his 85 (pitch-limit) before the sixth and we still needed to get three outs, so I decided to take those three outs at the beginning of the game when we had plenty of time at the end," Griffin said. "He was dominant again today. I think he's the best pitcher in the state, and when he's on the mound, you usually don't need many runs."

Portsmouth is seeking its first district title since it won six straight from 2006-11.

A Kutzer sacrifice fly off Lamprey River starting pitcher Forest MacKenzie and Jack Russo's fifth home run of the season gave Portsmouth a 2-0 lead in the first before Kutzer took the mound in the second. Hewett struck out two of the four batters he faced.

"Coach told me Calvin would throw 20 pitches and I'd come in to close it and I was fine with that," Kutzer said. "(With the lead) I felt secure so I could just throw strikes, and that's what I did."

Portsmouth extended its lead in the bottom of the second after a pair of errors and a Will Fahey single loaded the bases. Aaron Lundgren drove in Hewett with a sacrifice fly and Kutzer followed with a two-run single to give Portsmouth a 5-0 lead.

Portsmouth finished with seven hits and scored its final run when Oscar Lalime walked with the bases loaded in the fourth.

"The bats got going early, but I know we still haven't reached our full potential," Griffin said. "Jack got another home run and he's on a tear. It's still going to take more than we did today to beat whoever we play in the championship."

With the five-run cushion, Griffin could have taken Kutzer out in the third to make him available today, but he still didn't feel comfortable. Kutzer struck out the side with a runner on third base in the third.

"That's a really good-hitting team there," Griffin said. "It was really important to keep Timm in there. If you don't do that, you're sitting at home on Sunday, and the goal is to get to Sunday."

Portsmouth concluded round-robin play with a 5-0 win over Lamprey River (5-4) on Friday. Lamprey River coach Glen MacKenzie, a 1983 Portsmouth High School graduate and second cousin of Griffin, said he was surprised with how flat his team came out.

"Portsmouth is clearly the better team, but we just didn't show up," coach MacKenzie said. "To walk away after 13 years of coaching and to lose to my cousin — that's an alright thing. I hope they win a state championship, too."

Portsmouth scored nine runs in the sixth inning in a 14-4 win over Laconia during the regular season. Portsmouth defeated Somersworth, 8-6, earlier in the season. Griffin said Hewett, Fahey, Russo and Jeremy Destefano are all available to pitch today.

"I'm excited for (today) and we're starting to hit the ball again, so I'm happy about that," Kutzer said.

The winner of today's game will face the winner of the District I championship between Goffstown or Bedford in next weekend's best-of-three state championship series at Donati Field.

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